Inter-school rivalry taken to extremes

Published: Monday, February 04, 2008

SEVERAL MEMBERS of a high school swim team were suspended after they impaled fetal pigs on 15 car antennas and smeared crawfish on hoods and windshields in their rival school's parking lot in Des Moines, Iowa. Steve Teter, Roosevelt High School swim coach, said members of his team retaliated after Dowling Catholic High School swimmers lobbed snowballs at them at an earlier meet. The pigs likely were stolen from a biology lab. Ron Meyers, Dowling assistant principal, said officials "have faith the parents will deal with their kids appropriately, and the school will, too." Teter said several members of his team have been suspended from their next meet.

SUBSTANDARD CARE FOR VETERANS - Substandard care at a southern Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital may have contributed to 19 deaths over the past two years. The hospital in Marion, Ill., undertook many surgeries that its staffing or lack of proper surgical expertise made it ill-equipped to handle, and hospital administrators were too slow to respond once problems surfaced. "I can't tell you how angry we all are and how frustrated we all are," said Dr. Michael Kussman, U.S. veterans affairs undersecretary for health. Still, he insisted, "What happened in Marion is an exception to what otherwise is a truly quality health-care system" across the VA.

THIS WEEK'S EXAMPLE OF FELONY STUPIDITY - Shoplifting is all in the family for one California clan. A grandmother, her daughter and some of her grandchildren tried to steal $900 worth of merchandise from a Target store in Lodi, 35 miles south of Sacramento. The family's spree was captured by surveillance video, which police say showed them cutting open boxes and hiding MP3 players, digital cameras, DVDs, jewelry and sports equipment in purses, bags and a backpack. An 8-year-old and a 5-year-old were among the family members detained. Linda Robinson, 59, and her 36-year-old daughter, Anna Fernandez, were charged with burglary, grand theft, vandalism and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. If convicted, each could face eight years in prison.